Preview: 2011 Subaru WRX and STI

Track ready for thousands less

Calabogie, Ont.: Three years into the current WRX’s life cycle, Subaru is giving it a makeover — a move aimed at sharpening the car in all areas.

The good news is that the base car now shares the audacious WRX STI’s wide-body stance, bold fenders and buttoned-down appearance.

It also earns a darker interior finish, a nicer set of gauges and an advanced audio system that includes Bluetooth, Bluetooth streaming and a media hub (USB) that displays an MP3’s song list in the radio’s screen. The better news is that the WRX’s re-work comes without any increase in price. The base sedan starts at $32,495 and tops out at $36,395 when the Limited package is added to the hatchback model.

The increase in the WRX’s footprint (the track is 35 millimetres wider up front, 40 mm in back and the wheelbase grows by five mm) makes a big difference to the drive. It brings much better stability and a lower centre of gravity, both of which sharpen the experience.

As before, the WRX features Subaru’s blown 2.5-litre boxer engine. Thanks to the work ethic the turbo instills, this engine puts out 265 horsepower and 244 pound-feet of torque. The important part is that the torque does not peak — it is delivered over a broad range so the need to downshift is kept to a minimum.

The power is relayed to the road through a five-speed manual transmission and Subaru’s patented symmetrical all-wheel-drive system. In this case, the viscous centre coupling splits the power evenly (50/50 front to rear). The advantage is the stability it adds to the drive — there is no torque steer and unwanted wheelspin is conspicuous by its absence. Factor in the larger tires (up to P235/45R17 from last year’s 225/45R17s) and the reduction in unsprung mass (each wheel is about a kilogram lighter) and it takes a lot of ham-fisted sawing at the steering wheel to get the stability nanny to step to the fore.

Testing the WRX proved it’s a very balanced ride that is as equally at home getting groceries as it is hooning through a series of sweeping curves. It also proved to have enough power to satisfy most drivers — it canters to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.4 seconds.

However, if enough is never quite enough, there’s always the WRX STI. This car, which, at long last welcomes back a four-door sedan version (complete with oversized rear spoiler, although this time around it consumes less of the view through the rear-view mirror — thank you!) ramps things up in every area. The addition of variable valve timing to both the intake and exhaust cams and a larger turbo and intercooler bumps the power to 305 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque. This drops the zero-to-100-km/h run to 4.9 seconds, while adding much more urgency, especially in the mid-range. The driver can also select the manner in which the power is delivered. Normal is the best for everyday use, Sport sharpens the throttle response and Sport Sharp delivers what’s best described as maximum attack mode.

The STI also benefits from a six-speed manual box (the WRX should share this transmission), larger fade-free Brembo brakes and a more advanced all-wheel-drive system. The latter allows the driver to customize the power split front to rear. Normally, the system varies the split between 41/59 and 50/50 front to rear according to the conditions. The Auto+ mode picks the even power split, while the Auto- pegs it at the 41/59 split. The driver can also go manual and select a split anywhere between the extremes. For the most part, leaving it in the auto mode is best. On a track, however, the Auto- mode allows the driver to pitch the back end out because of the rear bias. The latter is particularly true when the electronic nanny is turned off (and it is fully off in this mode, as in no helping hand whatsoever).

The other big improvement is found in the suspension. By stiffening the front springs (by 15.5%), rear springs (by 53%) and installing fatter anti-roll bars, the amount of body roll drops by 30%. To say the STI stays flatter than gravy on a plate, even as the driver flirts with the limits, is an understatement. Again, the reduction in unsprung mass (almost two kg per wheel in the STI’s case) served to sharpen everything, most notably the steering’s response and feedback. When pushed around Calabogie Motorsports Park, a technical track with a lot of blind curves and elevation changes, the STI proved to be as track ready as anything in the segment, including those speedsters that cost thousands more.

On that note, all of the STI’s improvements (it also enjoys the same interior upgrades as the WRX) come with a $2,000 reduction in price. The STI sedan starts at $37,995 and tops out at $42,495 for the five-door hatch equipped with the Sport-tech package.

At the end of the day, the comment that best summed up the WRX STI came from fellow journalist Derek McNaughton: “Here you have a four-door sedan that feels as light and alive as a Porsche Boxster, and for thousands less.”

For me, it is one of the few cars that delivers anywhere near the bang — or overall handling — for one’s hard-earned buck — and that holds true for the WRX and WRX STI alike.

Can’t get enough of this car

The WRX has got to be one of the best secrets in Canada. But now that it’s got some hot-looking sheetmetal borrowed from the STI, you can bet top dollar that word is going to spread fast.

And not just because the car looks genuinely sharp, but because it is, at heart, a sports car, with a good-sounding exhaust, brilliant handling and tremendous acceleraton through all five gears from the turbo-charged, 4-cylinder boxer engine.

And for not much more money, the WRX STI stretches that performance bargain. At Calabogie Motorsports Park, the STI was as pleasing to drive as a Porsche Boxster — light, agile and plenty fast.

Never scary, even at outrageous speeds, the STI and its newly massaged suspension only serve to build confidence in the driver. Even when coming into a corner a little too fast, the STI’s Brembro brakes quickly restore order without any shuddering or fade. The tires show tremendous grip. Understeer, which was notable in the previous STI, is much harder to inititate in the new car. The whole car feels so much better balanced, with steering that’s close to the benchmark brand for feedback — BMW.

At one point in the testing of the STI, I had to be held back from driving the STI since I kept claiming every available car that came into the paddock, such was the absolute joy and desire to whirl this car around a track as challenging as Calabogie.

What the STI offers, then, is hints of Porsche and BMW in a package that can be driven to the office everyday, then the track on weekends, for much much less money than either of those marque brands. That, and the performance, makes for a much more enjoyable ownership experience all around.